Improvement in railway-car trucks



Z Sheets-Sheetll.. V. D. BEACH. RAILWAY CAR-TRUCK.

No.173.z57. Patented Feb. a, 187e.

jimi.' I

".FETERSy PHOTO-LITHGGRAFHER, WASHINGTON. D. Cy

l f z sheets-#sheen V. D. BEACH. RAILWAY CAR-TRUCK.

Patented Feb'. s, 187e.- l

UNITEDSTATES.

vnnfror D. BEACH, oF .BATTLE GREEK, Mien., Assrenon `or Two-Turnos PATENT Prion HIS RIGHT -TO THOMAS HART AND CHOLETT C, BEACH, OFv SAMEPLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAV-CAR TRUCKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 173,257, dated February 8, 1876; application filed January 31, 1876.

To all whom it 'may concern Be it known thatLVER'ro'r D. BEAomof Battle Greek, in the county of Calhoun and State of Michigan, have invented an Improvement in Railway-Car Trucks, of which the following is a specification:

The object I have in view is the construction of a car-truck in such a manner as to dispense with the center bearing and king-bolt heretofore used for swiveling the truck under the car.

The invention consists, first, in the peculiar construction of the truck-frame proper; secondly, in the peculiar Vconstruction of the springs in such amanner that their hangers are free to vibrate or oscillate in any direction; and, thirdly, in a peculiar trussed transom or bolster under the car, and in the manner or method of -hanging the car to the springs, as

more fully hereinafter set forth.

Figure 1, Sheet l, is aside elevation of the truck. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan of the same. Fig. 3, Sheet 2, is a plan of the truck proper,

showing also the lower member of the trussed. Fig. 4 is a sectional' 'transom under the car. elevation, showing the portion of the truckframe that is at the right of the linen@ win the last ligure. Fig. 5 is a bottom perspective view of the car, showing the trussed transom bolted thereto, with the exception of the lower member of said transom. Figli is an enlarged' horizontal section through the spring-case at v y y in Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a vertical section of the same at z z in the last figure. plan of the spring-trunk.

In the drawing, A A represent the trussed sides of the truck, connected together by two parallel transverse trussed girts, B B, these trusses being all constructed of fiat bar-iron, as seen in Figs. l and 4.. A ribbed post, a, is inserted between the open ends of the girders Fig. 8 is a B, and between the upper and lower membersv ofthe trusses A, all of which are riveted to the flanges of the posts.v C are the axle-boxes secured between the open ends of the side trusses in the usual manner. In lieu of the single transom or bolster under the car I bolt across the oar-bottom two parallel transoms, D D, preferably of wood, and across these at regularintervals about four dat iron tie-bars,

b, and an equal number of V-braces, b. D is an iron or steel transom bolted to the bottoms of the V-braces, first, however, being passed through the open space between the. upper and lower members ofthe side trusses, on top of each of which is seated a cylindrical springcase, E, having a circular opening in its baseplate, around which is arrangeda circular row of spiral springs, F, Fig. 7. On top of these springs is seated the iiange G of a cylindrical trunk, G, open at the lower end, which plays drown through the opening in the base-plate of the case. Pins c c in the iiange and baseplate project into the endsof 4each spiral spring to keep it in position. The flange of the trunk and the upper end of the case are corrugated,y as shown, to prevent the former from turning around, while its vertical play is not` interfered with. H is a link or hanger having an eye at each end. Through the eye at the upper end passesa pin, d, which rests in a groove across the raised top of the trunk. The lower end of the hanger passes through a slot in the transom D', and a cranked pin, e,

is passed through its eye, as seen in Fig. 7,

whereby the car-body is suspended by said hangers from the top of the springcase trunk. The advantages of. this method of hanging the car are, first, the truck is free to sway laterally, and to accommodate itself to inequalities in the track, Without communicating such motions to the body of the car, or at most to a very small extent, doing away with the concussive gage-motion experienced where the car-body is rigidly swiveled to the truck by a king-bolt and center-bearing; secondly, the single transom being replaced by a trussed structure the latter is not liable to fracture, as frequently occurs where a single transom is employed; thirdly, the bed ofthe car, be-

ing supported at two points over each truck, v

is not soliable to break as when supported by a single transom. v

I do not wish to be confined to the particular form of truck-spring shown, as it is evident that any other style of spring may be used which will permit the hangers to oscillate from or on their top connections.

lt is evident also that my construction and improvement above described are applicable .as

' well to locomotives and tender-trucks as to those for railroad-cars.

What I claim as my invention'is- 1. A railroad-car body, suspended centrally in the truck by hangers or links, which in turn are suspended from springs, iu order to permit a free movementof the trucks independently of the car-body, and dispense with a king-bolt, substantially as described.

2. The sidetrusses A A, connected by the transverse trussed girts B B and ribbed posts a, constructed and cmbined to form a rigid 4truck-frame, substantially as described.

3. The Irrussed transom D D Dl b b', secured to the cached, substantially as described, and suspended by the hangers H H from springs mounted upon the truck-frame, substantially as shownand set forth.

4. The herein-described car-spring, consisting of the case E inclosing a row of spiral springs, F, surmounted by the flanged trunk G G', substantially as described.

VERTOT D. BEACH. Witnesses:

H. F.l EBERTs, CHARLES J. HUNT. 

